Unconventional and Complicated
by Lyralocke
Summary: Kataang. On route to Ba Sing Sei, the gang runs across a rather unconventional couple in the woods, and Katara learns a lesson in love.
1. Chapter 1

_This story here will be three chapters long. The first chapter is the longest, the other two are a little shorter. I may continue it after the initial three chapters depending on the response I get._

_Just to warn you, there are two original characters in this. One of them got 7 points on the Mary Sue test, the other got 5. So I wouldn't be too worried about them if I were you._

_Another general note, this takes place between The Desert and The Serpent's Pass. It was also written before the airing of The Serpent's Pass, so if anything seems off about the actual storyline that's why. _

_Disclaimer: I do not own Avatar _

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CHAPTER 1 

"We've been walking for hours," Toph burst out.

"Yeah, we've been walking all night," Aang agreed. "We should find a place to camp."

Sokka looked up through the trees. The sky was turning from dark blue to a dusky shade of grey. "Yeah I guess," he sighed. He'd wanted to cover more ground, but he was getting tired. "We should be able to find a clearing around here. We can take a day to rest."

Katara didn't say anything. They'd been walking through this forest all night and at least half the previous day. They had taken a short rest after getting out of the desert, but after that they had to walk for days at a time. Aang was determined to get to Ba Sing Sei as soon as possible, and Sokka shared in his conviction. Toph complained every so often, but she wanted to find Appa as much as Aang did. She still felt sort of responsible for him being stolen, no matter how many times Katara reminded her it wasn't her fault.

Katara hadn't done much talking since they'd escaped the desert. Their time in the wasteland had taken a toll on her. She had spoken barely a word to Aang since she'd calmed him out of the Avatar State. Nobody knew what to do to cheer her up. Seeing all of them fall apart and turn on each other in that desert seemed to have affected her much more than anyone could have predicted.

Aang wasn't helping matters much. He was so ashamed of the way he had acted, the way he had shouted at her, he could hardly even look at her. Sokka had a hunch that if Aang would just talk to her and apologize, Katara would be back to her old self. But there wasn't anything he could do.

"Katara? Are you paying attention?"

Katara looked over at her brother. "Hm?"

Sokka sighed impatiently. "We're looking for a clearing so we can rest for a day. Are you going to stand there or are you going to help?"

Katara was about to respond, when Aang's voice rang out through the forest.

"Guys, I found a clearing!" he shouted.

Sokka and Katara followed his voice through the trees. Toph was already standing in the clearing. Aang was looking around for a tree of moon peaches he'd seen earlier. Sokka and Katara stopped beside Toph, staring into the clearing. It was a wide clearing, and one end opened up to a cliff's edge, offering a wonderful view of the hilly, forested landscape from the top of the bluffs they were traveling through.

Aang came up beside them, arms full of peaches. "Hey... why are we all standing here?" he asked.

"Uh, Aang? This clearing is... occupied," Sokka said awkwardly, pointing. Aang followed Sokka's line of sight into the clearing. His eyes widened and he blushed.

Lying in the clearing were a boy and a girl, fast asleep. They both looked like they were around Sokka's age, maybe the boy was a little older. But they weren't sleeping side by side. The boy's arms were wrapped around the girl's waist, holding her against him with her back to his chest. They both looked quite comfortable.

"...Oops..." Aang muttered, embarrassed. They all stood completely still, staring blankly at the snoozing couple. They were both wearing simple clothing, all in green. The boy had red war paint around his eyes, and his brown hair fell around his face like Sokka's did when his hair was down. The girl's brown hair was tied back in a number of braids held together beneath a dark blue bandana. Her skin was dark like Katara's.

"Who do you suppose they are?" Aang said quietly.

"They're still sleeping? This late in the morning?" Toph muttered, scratching her head.

Katara smiled. "They look so peaceful..."

Toph frowned. "Let's wake them up," she said grumpily.

"But they're so cute, sleeping together like that," Katara replied. Aang looked at her. She was smiling for the first time in days, and she hadn't spoken so much in just as long.

"I agree," he said quickly. "We should let them sleep."

Sokka wasn't listening. He was looking around the clearing. "Something's wrong here..." he muttered to himself. He looked at the boy's war paint. He'd seen it somewhere before. Then he saw their bags leaning against a tree. There was a bow and a quiver of arrows bearing the symbol of the Yu Yan archers.

Sokka gasped. "He's from the Fire Nation!" he shouted. "We've gotta wake them up!"

Toph grinned and raised her foot from the ground, preparing to stomp it back into the dirt and give the couple a rather rude awakening. "No problem!" she said, grinning.

"Wait!" Aang and Katara hissed in unison.

Katara pointed at them. "They're waking up!"

Everyone looked over. Sure enough, the two of them were stirring. The girl opened her eyes first and smiled a little.

"Mmm... morning Toru," she murmured tiredly.

The boy yawned. "Morning Kita," he replied. They both froze, eyes wide. In a few seconds they were both on their feet, pointing angrily at each other and shouting.

"WHAT DO YOU THINK YOU'RE DOING?!"

"WHAT DO I THINK I'M DOING? WHAT DO YOU THINK YOU'RE DOING?!"

"WHAT THE HECK IS WRONG WITH YOU?!"

"ME?! WHAT ABOUT YOU?!"

"WHAT ABOUT ME?!"

"YOU PERV, DON'T EVER TOUCH ME AGAIN!"

"GLADLY! YOU SMELL LIKE CABBAGE!"

Aang, Katara, Sokka, and Toph stared as this exchange continued.

"Wow, they fight more than you and Katara," Toph said to Sokka.

"No... I don't think this is the same kind of fight," Sokka said thoughtfully.

"Wow, how very perceptive of you, Sokka," Katara said with a grin. "But you're right. I think this is what they call a lover's quarrel."

"A lover's quarrel? What's that?" Aang asked, confused.

"It's when two people show that they care about each other by arguing all the time," Toph said sourly, sticking her tongue out in distaste.

"Well... I guess she's sort of got it right," Katara said bemusedly.

"EXCUSE ME!" Toph suddenly shouted.

"WHAT?!" the couple shouted back.

"I don't like being ignored!" Toph growled, lifting her foot and slamming it to the ground. The earth buckled and a landslide was sent hurtling toward the arguing pair. They both jumped out of the way, and the rocks smashed a tree in half. When the dust settled, the two of them looked more than a little surprised. They glanced at each other.

"Did you have to do that?" Katara asked, crossing her arms over her chest.

Toph grinned, satisfied. "Yes. Yes I did."

"She's an earthbender..." the boy muttered thoughtfully.

"She's blind..." the girl continued.

They both gasped as realization hit. "Vibrations!" they exclaimed in unison. They both whirled toward each other, fingers to their lips, hissing "Shhhh!"

"Let's get 'em!" Sokka shouted.

Katara looked over and raised an eyebrow. "Hm? Where'd they go?" she asked. Everyone looked over to where the couple had been standing seconds before. A few leaves floated toward the ground. They'd vanished.

Aang saw something darting among the tree branches to his right. "They're in the trees!" he shouted.

"And that guy's got his bow," Sokka said darkly. The four of them backed toward each other, looking around warily.

Suddenly, the girl dropped to the ground a short distance back in the trees. Sokka made to charge her down, but three arrows whizzed through the air and sank into the ground just inches in front of him. He stopped dead in his tracks.

"What's she doing?" Aang asked, squinting curiously at the girl.

"It looks like she's waterbending," Katara muttered, confused.

"And it feels like she's waterbending," Toph added.

"But... there's no water here," Aang replied.

"Maybe not above ground," the girl said with a grin.

"Uh oh," Toph muttered.

The ground beneath their feet trembled and cracked, sending a column of water blasting up through the ground and throwing all four of them up into the air. They all landed roughly on the grass. Before they could gain their feet, they were all frozen to the ground.

"Yeah, she's definitely a waterbender," Sokka muttered crossly.

"Maybe, but so am I," Katara replied. She was about to free them from the ice when the boy dropped to the ground, his bow in his hands and three arrows tight on the string.

"Don't move," he said coolly.

The girl moved up beside him. "Who are you guys and why'd you attack us?" she asked quickly, crossing her arms over her chest.

"I'd like to point out that _we_ didn't attack you. _She _did," Sokka said, glaring at Toph.

"Shut it, Snoozles, it was your idea," she growled back.

"I'm Aang," Aang said quickly. "And we really don't want any trouble."

"I'm Katara, and the loud ones over there are Sokka and Toph," Katara added. "We're sorry we barged in on you. We were just looking for a place to rest."

"Hey, wait," the boy said, looking at Aang. "Airbender tattoos. You're the Avatar!"

The girl looked at Aang quickly. "Oh no!" she gasped. She grabbed the boy's arm. "Put the bow down!" The boy immediately did as she said.

"I'm so sorry!" she continued, quickly turning the ice back into water. She grabbed Katara's hand and pulled her to her feet while the boy helped Aang up from the ground. This sudden attitude change caught them all off guard. Even Sokka and Toph were silent while they were helped to their feet.

"If I'd known you were the Avatar this wouldn't have happened," the girl continued. "Seriously. You can just... never be too careful, you know?"

"Sorry, but... who are you guys exactly?" Katara asked, bending the water out of her clothes and doing the same for Toph. Aang tried, but it didn't quite work as well as it had for Katara, so he and Sokka remained rather damp.

"Oh, right, I'm Kita," the girl said with a smile.

"I'm Otoru," the boy said, sliding the arrows back into his quiver. "But... uh, she calls me Toru, so I guess my friends call me Toru."

Kita smiled bemusedly. Katara found herself smiling as well.

"It's nice to meet you," she said.

"Um... you said you were looking for a place to rest?" Kita continued. They all just nodded. "Well you can have this clearing if you want, we're on our way to Ba Sing Sei."

"Really? So are we," Aang replied. "You guys want to join us for some breakfast?"

"Hold it!" Sokka shouted. Everyone looked at him. He gestured wildly at Toru. "Am I the only one who noticed that he's from the Fire Nation?"

Toru gave an embarrassed chuckle and looked at his feet. "Yeah, can't deny that," he said awkwardly.

"And you're from the Water Tribe," Sokka continued, glancing at Kita. "What are you doing with this guy?"

"Well, technically I wasn't born in either of the Water Tribes," Kita said frankly. She smiled a little. "This is... kind of a long story. Maybe we should get situated first."

A short while later, they were all seated around a roaring campfire finishing off their breakfast. Kita started on her story.

"My dad was a warrior in the Northern Water Tribe. He and some other warriors were sent to the Earth Kingdom to help out the army. Somewhere along the way, my dad met my mom here in a village near the northern ocean. He left the warriors to settle down, and I was born. I inherited dad's waterbending, since mom wasn't a bender. So he started to teach me, but he never finished. He was called back to service shortly after the six hundred day siege of Ba-Sing-Sei ended. So I had to finish training myself. I watched the local earthbenders and figured out how to bend groundwater. There are underwater springs and rivers all over the Earth Kingdom. About a year ago, I ran across Toru, and we've been traveling together ever since."

"So you've never been to the north pole?" Katara asked.

"Nope," Kita replied.

"Wow, your dad must have done a great job of teaching you for you to get this good by training yourself," Aang said.

"Yeah, he was a great teacher," Kita said with a smile. "We ran into him about a month ago. A lot of troops are heading to Omashu. Apparently something big is going down there soon."

"So, what's your story?" Sokka asked Toru, staring suspiciously at him.

Toru smiled ruefully. "I'm part of the resistance," he said.

"There's a resistance in the Fire Nation?" Aang said, surprised.

"Yeah, of course there is," Toru said. "You didn't think we were all like Ozai, did you?"

"I sure hoped you weren't," Aang replied with a nervous laugh.

"We're an underground rebellion known as Sozen's Bane," Toru continued. "My parents are both in it, and so am I. We're infiltrating all levels of Ozai's army to get information for our first strike. That's why I'm a Yu Yan archer. Well, that's why I _was_ a Yu Yan archer."

"What do you mean?" Toph asked, just as suspicious as Sokka was.

"Well, I trained as a Yu Yan archer, and we were sent to the Earth Kingdom to guard a base. But there were rumors that Zhao would be appointed admiral soon and take control of us. There was a surprise inspection because Zhao was going to use the archers to capture you, Aang," he said.

"Oh yeah, that was when Sokka and Katara were sick," Aang said thoughtfully. "Those guys were really strong."

"We're trained to be that way," Toru said, smiling. "But during the inspection, I was found out. So I had to make a run for it. I was injured in my escape attempt, but once I got far enough, they stopped chasing me. It was a few months before Zhao actually became admiral and they started chasing you instead. Sorry about that."

"It's no big deal," Aang replied.

"Well, I made it to Kita's village, and my injury was seriously taking its toll. I ran into Kita in the street, and she reacted like Toph and tried to kill me."

"I did not try to kill you," Kita cut in. "You totally attacked me first."

"Anyway, we were fighting, but then she noticed I was injured. So she did what waterbenders do and-"

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"-and healed me."

"You have healing powers?" Katara asked.

"Kind of... I'm really not very good at it," Kita admitted.

"I can vouch," Toru added. Kita punched his shoulder and he started laughing.

"So... why are you guys going to Ba Sing Sei?" Sokka asked.

"I'm trying to find the headquarters of Sozen's Bane here in the Earth Kingdom," Toru said. "We figure the best place to look is Ba Sing Sei."

"But why are you with him?" Toph continued, turning to Kita.

"I figured people would believe him and be less likely to arrest him if a waterbender was with him," she said, nudging his shoulder playfully.

"Come on, you know you just _love_ spending time with me," Toru replied, wiggling his eyebrows and wrapping an arm around her shoulders.

Kita snorted with laughter and elbowed him in the ribs. "Nice try."

"Wow, they're... friendly," Sokka said, sounding irritated.

"Are you kidding? They're in _love_," Katara sighed wistfully, smiling.

"Don't say that so loud!" Toph hissed. "They'll start yelling again."

After a few more seconds, Kita managed to hold Toru off long enough to laugh, "So why are you guys headed to Ba Sing Sei?"

The smile faded from Katara's face. Toph turned her eyes to the ground. Aang sighed. "Something was taken from us, and we're going to get it back," he said quietly. Toru stopped trying to tickle Kita and they both settled down.

"Is there any way we can help?" Toru asked worriedly.

"Not at the moment," Sokka said. They were all quiet for a moment, staring into the campfire.

"You guys have been through a lot, haven't you?" Kita said gently.

Katara looked at Aang for a moment. He noticed, but he refused to look at her. She nodded. "Yeah, we have," she replied.

"Well, we want to help," Toru said. Everyone looked at him. "Everyone is waiting for the Avatar to save the world, but you guys shouldn't have to do it on your own."

Kita nodded. "We'll go to Ba Sing Sei with you, lighten the load a little."

"If you don't mind, that is," Toru added.

Aang smiled. "Thanks, I really appreciate it," he said. "But... we've only known you guys for an hour. Are you sure you want to put yourselves in danger? I mean... we kind of attract trouble."

"And evil teenaged royalty bent on our destruction," Sokka added frankly.

Kita and Toru both smiled. "You guys need help, and we can give you help. It's a pretty simple concept," Toru said with a shrug.

"People don't really think that way anymore," Toph pointed out.

"No... but they should," Kita said calmly.

"Yeah, you're right," Aang said, smiling. "You're welcome to come with us."

"Okay, great, but right now I need sleep," Sokka said.

"Oh right, you guys need rest," Kita said, getting to her feet. "Go ahead, we'll make sure you aren't disturbed."

"I'm gonna go check around the woods a little, see if there's a stream around or something," Toru said. "Kita, could you stay here to keep watch?"

Kita smiled. "Don't worry, I've got it covered," she said. Toru smiled back and grabbed his bow and quiver. Katara watched them curiously. Toru and Kita shared a glance before he disappeared into the trees. Kita turned back to the fire with a smile on her face, blushing a little. Katara grinned as she spread out her bedroll.

Katara turned away from the fire to put away her water satchel and saw Aang standing a short distance away, looking around.

"Aang? What's wrong?" she asked, concern evident in her voice. She stood up and moved next to him, dropping her water satchel with their other bags.

"I um... well, I don't have a place to sleep," he said, sounding embarrassed.

"Oh, I'm sorry Aang, I hadn't even thought about that," she said worriedly. Aang always slept on Appa's tail, but with Appa gone...

"It's fine, really, I can just sleep on the ground," he said quickly.

"No, Aang, you don't have to do that," she cut in, laying a hand on his shoulder. "You can sleep with m..." she trailed off in mid-thought. They both blushed. "Uh..." She turned quickly and looked at Kita. She flushed in embarrassment when she realized Kita had been watching her, grinning. Exactly the way Katara had been watching her just moments before.

"Kita, could Aang borrow Toru's bedroll?" Katara said quickly, willing the color to recede from her cheeks.

Kita gave her a knowing smile. "Sure thing," she said simply, tossing the bedroll to the blushing airbender.

"Um, thanks," Aang muttered. He looked at Katara. "Uh... sleep well." He moved over near Sokka and laid out his bedroll, being careful not to look at her. Katara tilted her head a little, watching him. She sighed. When she turned and sat back on her bedroll, her eyes widened when she realized Kita was still watching her. Kita gave her another knowing grin.

"Thanks for helping him out," Katara muttered. "He's been having a rough few days..."

"You really care about him," Kita said in response. It wasn't a question.

"He's my best friend, of course I care about him," Katara said with a light laugh.

Kita just smiled. "Yeah, Toru's my best friend too," she said, looking at her pointedly.

Katara's eyes widened a little. "I uh... need to get some sleep..."

"Sorry, I won't keep you awake," Kita said. "Sleep well."

Katara stared at her. She'd known this girl for an hour and a half, maybe even less. But it was like Kita knew her back to front. She lied down on her bedroll and closed her eyes. "Sleep well..." she muttered.


	2. Chapter 2

_Thanks for the reviews, to those who did. It is appreciated, though I don't have time to respond to all of them. Sorry about that._

_Here is the second chapter._

_Disclaimer: I do not own Avatar_

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CHAPTER 2

Around midday, everyone was awake again. They all set about their tasks to fix up the campsite for the rest of the day. Toru and Katara were left to make lunch while everyone else wandered off for water, firewood, and food.

"So, you're the cook of the group, huh?" Katara said bemusedly as they started throwing things together in a bowl to make stew.

"Yeah, Kita's a lousy chef," he laughed.

"Sokka would find this very unnerving," Katara replied. "He's still in that whole 'girls do the cooking, guys do the killing' mindset."

"Yeah, I got booted out of that around the time I met Kita."

"So, are you a firebender?" Katara asked curiously. They both stopped their food preparation for a moment to talk properly.

"Nah, not really. I mean, I can do this," he snapped his fingers and a flame appeared. He snapped again and it vanished. "But that's about the extent. I use it to light my arrows sometimes. And the campfire."

Katara laughed a little. "So... are there lots of firebenders in Sozen's Bane?" she asked.

Toru nodded. "Yeah, there are a lot of us, and at least half are firebenders. Why do you ask?"

Katara looked at the fire for a moment. "Aang needs to learn firebending, and the only firebenders we know are enemies. There was one man who was going to teach Aang, but he vanished, and we don't have time to look for him."

"Well, Sozen's Bane sounds like the place to be for Aang," Toru said with a smile.

Katara bit her lip. "There is one other problem," she said quietly. "Aang tried firebending once, and it didn't end well. Long story short, he swore to me he'd never firebend again. And he hasn't broken a promise to me yet. I haven't brought it up since then, but I know it's going to be a problem."

"Don't worry about it," Toru said simply. Katara looked at him curiously. "Until the time comes that he refuses to firebend, you don't need to worry about it. When that time comes, you'll help him through it."

"Me?" Katara said doubtfully.

"You," he repeated. He looked straight into her eyes. It made her nervous. "Trust me, you'll know what to do."

She looked back at the beginnings of the stew. "Thanks," she said, smiling.

They all spent the rest of the day relaxing and getting acquainted. Sokka ended up having a lot in common with Toru, though he still didn't like him because he was from the Fire Nation. Toru didn't really mind. Toph and Aang talked to him for along time. Katara, on the other hand, finally had time to talk to another girl around her age. She had been starved of female company for much too long, considering Toph acted more like the boys. They talked all afternoon about simple things like their grandparents and waterbending. However, when the darkness of the late evening fell, Katara ventured a different topic.

She looked across the fire. The others weren't paying attention. She turned to Kita. "Can I ask you a personal question?" she said quietly.

Kita looked at her for a moment, then turned her gaze across the fire to Toru. "Yes, I am in love with him," she said, smiling.

Katara stared at her, surprised. "How did you know I was going to ask you that?"

Kita looked at her again. "Because I was going to ask you the same thing," she said, nodding toward Aang.

Katara's eyes widened. "Me? In love with Aang? That's... no, I mean... I'm not in lo... I, uh... oh no..." Katara stammered uselessly, resigning herself to the inevitable. She looked up at Kita. "Is it that obvious?"

Kita grinned triumphantly. "Honestly? Yeah."

Katara sighed and looked down. "It's not a good thing..." she muttered.

Kita looked like she was trying not to laugh. "What's wrong with being in love?"

Katara sighed again. "Nothing. I just... I just can't be in love with Aang," she said, sounding tired. "It's... complicated."

Kita sighed as well. "Yeah, I know what you mean."

"Does he know how you feel? Er... does he feel the same?" Katara asked tentatively, trying to turn the subject from herself.

Kita nodded, gazing through the flames at Toru. "Yeah, he does," she said vaguely.

"So then... are you two...?"

Kita sighed again. "No, we're not," she said. Now she sounded tired. "It's complicated."

Both of them fell silent and stared through the fire at Toru and Aang.

"How do you know you're in love with him?" Katara asked quietly.

Kita thought for a moment. "It was a slow process, falling in love with him. I mean, I won't pretend we haven't been shamelessly flirting since day one, but... I think I first noticed it a few months ago. We were in a village south of here, and we met this boy. He immediately started hitting on me. It was driving Toru crazy, he was so jealous. But I didn't really mind it because I knew I wasn't interested. And then it hit me. I wasn't interested because I was done. I was done looking for someone. I didn't get it at first, but he was right in front of me." She smiled softly, eyes clouding over as though she was enjoying a wonderful memory.

"After we left that village..." she laughed a little to herself, eyes sparkling. "He wouldn't talk to me for hours. He was acting like a baby. So I asked him what was wrong, you know, just to humor him. And he got all snippy at me. He asked me why I was flirting with that guy, what was the matter with me, what I saw in him, blah blah blah. I was just smiling. But then he slipped up. Along with all the testosterone-fueled yelling, he accidentally said that he loved me. And he froze. He just stood there panicking for a good thirty seconds. I couldn't believe the feeling..." She sighed sadly, though she was still smiling.

"I actually laughed a little. I mean, I couldn't help it. I felt so wonderful. And he just got mad at me again and asked me what I was laughing at. And I told him. I just came right out and told him that I loved him. I was so happy. But so... not happy."

"Why?" Katara whispered, enthralled by her story.

Kita sighed again. "I just couldn't let myself be happy. I knew that it wouldn't work with us... but he didn't. He tried to kiss me." She looked down sadly. "I wanted him to. I really, really wanted him to. But I wouldn't let him. I just told him to forget it. Us. He kept asking me why, he didn't understand. But I never really gave him a reason. It was too hard..." She stopped for a moment, unable to continue. She closed her eyes. Katara watched her sadly. If it was going to get this painful for her to love Aang, but not be with him...

"Well, since then he's been trying to get to me," she continued quietly. "He'll spring something on me when I least expect it." She blushed a little. "He'll touch my shoulder or my cheek... or just come up behind me and put his hands on my waist... and sometimes he does this thing where he kind of... stops and leans in really close, and then he just closes his eyes and takes a deep breath, like he's trying to drink me in or something." She shivered a little. "It drives me crazy... especially during the full moon. He can see how much it irritates me..." Katara blushed a little as well, smiling sympathetically.

"Oh spirits, I love him..." Kita sighed, flustered. She ran her fingers up into her hair distractedly, knocking her bandana askew. She looked up at Toru through the fire, not even trying to disguise the longing in her gaze. Toru seemed to feel her eyes on him, because he looked up at her. He seemed a little surprised by the way she was looking at him, but he didn't look away. Katara noticed with a jolt that he had the same kind of longing in his eyes. Kita looked down after a moment and Toru looked away, acting as though it hadn't happened.

"Kita..." Katara said sadly. "If you love him so much it's hurting you... and he actually loves you back..." Kita looked at her miserably. Katara continued, sounding almost frantic. "Do you know how rare that is? I mean... the person you're desperately in love with loves you back! Why don't you do something about it?"

Kita didn't answer for a long time. "I don't really want to explain," she muttered. "But I just can't stop loving him. I'll be watching him, while he's sleeping, or while he's just relaxing by the fire... I know, without a doubt, that if he were to leave, I'd do anything to get him back beside me."

Katara sighed a little. "Sounds familiar," she muttered.

Kita smiled a little and nudged her shoulder. "Everything will turn out okay with you two," she said. "Don't worry."

Katara didn't respond. She looked sadly at Kita. She had never seen someone so in love... and in so much pain because of it.

Later that night, everyone was preparing to go to sleep. Toru agreed to take first watch, so Aang used his bedroll again. Katara couldn't fall asleep. She closed her eyes and tossed and turned, but sleep wouldn't find her. She opened her eyes when she heard footsteps. She sat up a little and looked out at the cliff at the other end of the clearing. She saw Kita sitting down next to Toru, and the night was quiet enough for her to hear what they were saying.

"You looked lonely," Kita said quietly.

Toru looked at her. "Couldn't sleep?" he asked.

Kita smiled. "No. I'll take over the watch if you want."

"Nah, I'm fine."

The two of them lapsed into silence for a while. Then, Toru spoke.

"You know I love you, don't you?"

"Toru, don't..." Kita began, standing up quickly.

Toru jumped to his feet and stopped her. "Come on, I don't understand why you're fighting me," he said, keeping his voice low so he wouldn't wake anyone. "Katara has known us for a day and she can see it. I saw the way you looked at me when you were talking to her."

"Please, don't do this again," Kita said coldly, trying to turn back toward the fire. Toru grabbed both of her wrists and turned her to face him.

"I just want a reason," he said, looking straight at her. "Please."

Kita stared at him and took a deep breath. "What happens when we find Sozen's Bane, Toru?" she whispered. "You rejoin the resistance, go off to fight the Fire Nation. Where do I fit in there? There's no room for me in your life once you're back with your people. And if I had to let you go... No. I couldn't let you go. Not if you hold on to me now."

"I'll make room for you, Kita. You know I'd do anything for you."

Kita tried to pull away, grumbling, "I'm just being rational."

"No, you're being stubborn."

"You're the one being stubborn."

"Do you love me?"

Kita stopped struggling and stared at him. "What?"

"Do you love me?"

"How can you even ask me that? You know I do."

"And you know I love you. Things like this don't just happen. We're meant for each other."

"Toru-" she began, trying to pull away again.

Katara's eyes widened. Toru had grabbed the back of Kita's head and pressed his lips to hers. She stopped struggling immediately, practically going limp in his arms. After a few moments, they pulled apart. Kita looked dazed for several moments, breathing slowly. She closed her eyes and shook her head, placing her hands on his chest and trying to push him away.

"No... no... you can't just..." she murmured, trying to sound angry through the delirious fog around her.

"Shhhh..." he replied, moving toward her again.

She shook her head quickly, leaning away. "I'm not going to give in to you," she said quietly, finally regaining the edge in her voice.

"Kita..." he muttered, stroking her cheek. She closed her eyes contentedly and sighed.

"Please don't..." she whispered, though she didn't sound like she meant it.

"Why not?"

"Because you'll break my heart."

"I'd never do that."

"...Prove it."

"Okay," he leaned in close to her and kissed her again, slowly, gently. Kita sighed against his lips and wrapped her arms around his neck. Katara felt heat rising to her cheeks. The camp was completely silent, but every so often Kita would make a small sound of contentment in the back of her throat, just loud enough to carry to Katara's ears. After a short while they pulled apart. Toru looked at her carefully. She kept her eyes closed, breathing deeply.

"I... I'm still right you... you know..." she muttered, trying to control the situation.

"I know," Toru replied, humoring her as he moved in for another kiss.

Katara closed her eyes and smiled, lying back down on her bedroll. Maybe she should try to get to sleep now.


	3. Chapter 3

_Once again, thanks for the reviews. It remains appreciated._

_Here's the last chapter for now. If the readers want, then I'll continue. Let me know._

_EDIT: I decided not to continue. I think it ends in a pretty good place, and I have nothing else to say without making it seem forced._

_Disclaimer: I do not own Avatar_

* * *

CHAPTER 3

Katara woke up the next morning before anyone else. The sun was just a sliver on the horizon. Katara sat up. She looked out at the cliff again. There sat Toru and Kita, side by side with their legs hanging over the cliff's edge, leaning against each other, fast asleep. Katara got to her feet and quietly slipped toward them. She tentatively tapped Kita's shoulder.

Kita opened her eyes drowsily. "Mm?" she muttered.

"Sorry, but... Toph will be awake soon, and she wakes Sokka up, so..." Katara trailed off, glancing pointedly at Toru.

Kita followed Katara's glance and jumped a little. She seemed surprised to see Toru next to her, despite the fact that her head had been on his shoulder moments before. She blushed furiously when she realized his arm was looped around her waist. But her look of shock turned into a soft smile.

"Thanks, Katara," she said quietly, looking over at Toru again. Her smile only grew. She tentatively shook his shoulder.

"Whassamatter?" he mumbled, falling over sideways.

"Any time," Katara said, smiling a little and moving quietly back to camp. Toru stumbled over a few minutes later, guided by Kita.

"He's a heavy sleeper," she muttered to Katara's questioning glance. "Wakes up kind of slowly at times." She shook his shoulder again. "Come on, Toru. Wake up. We need a fire."

Katara smiled. Kita seemed to have woken up enough to be back to her old self.

"Right, fire, got it," Toru mumbled, sticking his hand into the pile of charred wood and snapping his fingers. The fire burst into life. He jumped and pulled his hand out.

"Whoa, I'm up," he said quickly.

"Great, get breakfast ready," Kita said, patting his shoulder. She grabbed Katara's wrist and hauled her to her feet. "Can I have a word?" she said, pulling the surprised waterbender off toward the cliff.

"What's wrong?" Katara asked, confused.

Kita smiled. "Nothing, that's just it," she sighed happily. "Oh wow, I've never felt like this before. I... I can't believe this!" She spun around and grabbed Katara's shoulders. "He kissed me, Katara! It was amazing!"

Katara just laughed. "Wow, I get the feeling you're excited," she said while Kita tried to calm herself down.

When she did, the smile faded from her face a little. "But I'm kind of… confused…" she admitted quietly. She suddenly looked frightened. "Katara… he kissed me. Oh no…"

Katara watched her, concerned. "What's wrong?"

"It's just… my reasons for not being with him…" she began slowly. "I'm right. I know I'm right. But now… he won."

Katara smiled a little. "I didn't realize it was a matter of winning or losing," she said.

Kita shrugged. "I didn't either… but now it seems like it's just been a game…" she muttered. "He's just been trying to get to me… and he finally did."

"I don't think it's a game to him," Katara said quietly.

Kita looked up at her. "Really?"

Katara smiled sympathetically. "He loves you," she said. "And he just wanted you to love him back. He's not trying to toy with you, Kita."

Kita looked past Katara and her gaze fell upon Toru. "You think so?" she murmured.

Katara placed her hands on Kita's shoulders and turned her to face her. "I'm pretty sure," she said with a light laugh.

"So maybe I was wrong…" Kita muttered. She glanced at Katara. "This is new. I mean… I've been refusing myself the one thing I want because I thought I was right. But… I was wrong."

Katara didn't say anything. She was thinking hard. If Kita was wrong… what if she was wrong too?

Kita started grinning. "You know, I'm pretty sure I've never been this happy to be proven wrong," she sighed. "Thanks, Katara."

"Hm? Oh, sure, don't mention it," Katara muttered distractedly.

Kita was now smirking at her, which made Katara nervous. "You know what this means for you, don't you?" Kita asked.

Katara frowned. "No...?"

"Saying your relationship with Aang is complicated is no longer a good excuse," Kita said.

"What? No, no, you don't understand," Katara stammered, backing away a few steps.

"Then explain it to me," Kita said calmly, giving Katara a level stare.

Katara looked down. "He's the Avatar," she sighed. "He's only thirteen, and he's been thrust into this role and this war that he's not ready for. I don't want to add myself to his list of worries."

"Oh come on, Katara," Kita snorted. "His list of worries? You're already on it, whether you believe it or not."

"What do you mean?"

"He already worries about you, Katara," Kita said quietly. "There's no changing that. So just give yourself a break. You know what you want, just go for it!"

"I... I can't," Katara said quietly. "I mean, we're just kids..."

"But you love him," Kita continued. "Aang is a year and a half younger than you, so what? I'm a year and a half younger than Toru. It doesn't matter. And if you want to get technical about it, he is ninety-eight years older than you."

"Well you've sure turned this around on me," Katara sighed. She smirked a little. "It can't have been that great of a kiss."

Kita just kept smiling. "First of all, yes, it was that great of a kiss… or, you know… five," she said slyly, making Katara blush. "And haven't you been listening? I was wrong. What I thought was complicated really wasn't at all."

"So what exactly is your point?" Katara asked warily.

"That real love has no obstacles," Kita said quietly. "Just excuses."

Katara stared at her. She seemed like a different person. No, that wasn't true. She was the same person. She just seemed more... full. More whole. Complete. Like something about her had been missing before. Katara wondered vaguely if people thought she was missing something.

"Alright, I can settle for compromise," Kita finally said. "Just get a little closer. That'll take one worry off his list at least."

Katara sighed heavily. "I'll work on it," she mumbled.

Kita grinned. "Good." She looked back at the camp. Toph and Sokka were snapping angrily at each other. Toru was making breakfast. Aang was sitting by the fire, yawning. Katara was watching him. Kita cleared her throat loudly. Katara jumped and Kita began shooing her back to the camp, hissing "Go on! Move it!"

Katara stumbled into camp, Kita hot on her heels. She walked past Katara, staring pointedly at her, and sat down by the fire beside Toru. He smiled at her and she grinned, moving very close to him.

Katara took a deep, calming breath. She moved to the other side of the fire and sat down beside Aang. She glanced at him warily. How had she fallen for him? It had happened so naturally, she hadn't even noticed it. But now, it was so obvious. She didn't know how to act around him.

"Um..." she began, not sure what to say. "Aang?"

He looked over at her carefully, still not ready to talk to her after what happened in the desert. "Yeah?"

"...How are you doing?" she asked quietly, gentle concern in her voice.

Aang sighed. "Katara... why are you still worried about me?" he asked sadly.

"What do you mean?" she replied, turning to face him.

He didn't look at her. "The way I acted in the desert... you shouldn't be so nice to me after the way I yelled at you. But you still helped me out of the Avatar State. And now you're asking me if I'm okay. Why?"

Katara gazed at him sadly. "Aang..." she breathed.

Aang sighed again and looked at his feet. His eyes shot open, however, when he felt Katara's lips on his cheek. He looked over at her, surprised. She was smiling gently at him, blushing.

"I care about you, Aang," she said quietly. "You were upset. No one can blame you for that. And when someone you care about is upset, you don't hold a grudge. You help them. You... fix them, so they're not upset anymore." She moved closer beside him and took his hand. "I don't want you to be upset, Aang. Because I really, really care about you."

Aang stared at her. She looked down shyly, smile remaining in place.

"I... care about you, too," he said quietly. "Really." Katara leaned her head on his shoulder and turned back to the fire, hand never leaving his.

After a few moments of intimate silence, Aang muttered, "Katara... I'm sorr-"

"It's okay," she cut him off quietly.

Aang breathed out in relief, smiling with her. "Yeah, it is."

She sighed, content. Maybe it was as easy as Kita said.

Across the fire, Kita grinned. Toru followed her line of vision. He smirked.

"I don't suppose you had anything to do with that?" he asked quietly, looking at Aang and Katara, leaning comfortably against each other just as he and Kita had woken up barely half an hour earlier.

Kita didn't respond. She just kept smiling.


End file.
